This is great! I went vegan about a year ago, after reading some horror stories about factory farming.

The first month honestly was pretty hard, but it felt amazing, long term. And you might find your tastes change, too – I passionately hated mushrooms my whole life, after being vegan for a month I was craving them all day every day. Weird!

How funny! After coming across your talk at TED, I was motivated to take on a challenge and the first challenge I chose was to eat vegan for 30 days. Tuesday next week will be the last day of my challenge. Oh, I also added a “no alcohol” rule to make it a little harder.

The challenge hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be, and I have developed some good eating habits which will stay with me even after the challenge is over. I got admit though. I miss an ice cold brew, dark chocolate, and a bit of cheese once in awhile. All in moderation and not necessarily in this same order. 🙂

This is a bit off-topic but I don’t think it’s been clarified and would appreciate your feedback and I’m sure many thousands of your followers would too.
Google has never favored affiliates, particularly in recent years. This has been shown by Google Adwords knock backs in the form of “bridge pages” and generally being an affiliate. But let’s not get caught up in the ins and outs of those details, which I am sure Google has a ready answer for.
In my opinion Google search is designed to best replicate ‘real world’ businesses and search, in the real world many many ‘brokers’/ affiliates exist.
But the crux of this issue is Google appears to be entering this market, I am based in Australia but did a US search on Credit Cards and low and behold “Google Adviser” appears number 1 in the Adwords with “Comparison Ad”.
So my questions are:
1.) Is it OK for Google to be in the comparison, affiliate market but not others?
2.) How do you get a ‘comparison ad’
3.) This seems like an attempt for Google to increase it’s revenue base as Adwords revenue has matured, shouldn’t Google stick to investing it’s resources into making the best possible search engine (I don’t think we’re there yet) rather than trying to encroach and dominate on new markets?

I always saw, as many have… as Google being a friendly, likable, do-no-evil brand. I can say with complete confidence that if that company continues on this tangent they will redefine corporate ‘evil’ and make Microsoft’s Netscape inhibiting attempts in the late 90’s look like child play.
I think it’s time for Google to wisen up to their role in the online landscape and participate within the online landscape with other players, while continuously improving their product while not trying to dominate and own the entire internet.
It won’t work in the end, the sooner Google realizes the better and the less pain everyone goes through.

Matt – Awesome choice! Welcome to the ranks of Albert Einstein, Bob Barker, Alicia Silverstone, Bill Clinton, and so many more notable and influential people. Just do me a favor, nearly everyone who tries going vegetarian or vegan don’t plan it out. Since you’re doing a 30-day Veg challenge, I’d say pick up a book, Dr. Neal Barnard’s books are the best, and pick up a vegan cookbook.

Focus on diversifying your vegetables – Broccoli and Kale are a couple “superfoods” with plenty of Iron and calcium. Then there’s a whole array of fake meats and tofu, tempeh, or seitan (wheat gluten).

IF in the next 30 days you’re in Chicago, let me know and I’d be happy to treat you out to the Chicago Diner – meat free since ’83.

Yeah! You go girlfriend! Being vegan is surprisingly easy this day and age. I was a vegan for 4 years back in the early 00s, but kinda realized that personally just being a “normal” veggie is enough for my moral standards (“it’s not ok to kill animals, but it’s ok to torture them”), but all the best for your 30 day stint and I’m sure even though you’ll be relieved when you return to your regular diet, you’ll also realize how much smaller of a sacrifice being a vegan is than it seems.

This was my first challenge after watching your TEDtalk! Central CA isn’t all that keen on vegan (I think there’s TWO natural food stores for the entire 300,000 person community), so I resorted to a ton of online recipes. Check out the boards on Pinterest for inspiration. My favorite recipe is raw tacos.

It will probably take the better part of the first 30 days to lose the cravings that you’re used to satisfying. After the first 2-3 weeks, your energy level will increase and you’ll feel all-around better. Most people that stick it out 30 days, stay with it permanently. You’ll be healthier and live longer. (Not to mention the many animals lives that will be saved)

Good Luck with that Matt. I don’t think I would be able to. I like my meat too much. i did however manage to go almost an entire month without sodas. And it was a good experience. I still drink some now and then, but I’m no longer addicted to them.

However, as a vegan myself, I’d advise you to keep on with eggs and dairy…
Eat dry fruits (figs, apricots, almonds, etc.) and be sure to mix up things like cereals and leguminous stuff (pasta + lentils + eggplant for example).

Thanks to your challenge, you’ll participate in sparing animals, reduce Earth pollution and Third-World starvation and kick the butt of shameless traders who speculate on foodstuffs as well.

Hi Matt – Good luck with your vegan challenge. I’ve recently become a veggie, and this morning I buried a wasp even after it stung me in a particularly sensitive area. It all comes down to a new found interest in Feng Shui. Dan

I am very interested to see the out come and your feeling after 30 day. But honestly its nice plan, but you could always balance. Only Veg might seems boring to a lot people. Balance diet is best.
But test some thing new is like challenge. Lets see.

Good on you Matt. I went on a 90 day challenge after attending a Tony Robbins seminar
and gave up meat, wheat, dairy, caffeine and alcohol for three months – I felt amazing for it
but I succumbed to a beer at a gig… Will try it again one day!

May I suggest vast quantities of almond milk as comfort food? I tried to be a vegan for a month, and gave up after a week in the face of an insatiable craving for a chocolate cake…I’m sure you’ll do much better.

And then there is the question of honey. Most vegans avoid it since it’s impossible to harvest honey without smooshing a few bees, yet 70%+ of a vegan’s diet is seed pollinated or plant pollinated by Apis mellifera. It will be interesting to hear how you tackle those choices.

As Tristan P. pointed out a vegan diet usually goes hand in hand with a vegan lifestyle (no animal clothing, no coffee, etc.) though your 30 day challenge just mentions the eating part. Either way good luck. It will be interesting to hear how it goes.

What about the cats man!
Just use that wonderful search engine thing and search for “The Smells That Cats Hate”.

Short extract:

“Now lets get on to what scents really stink for cats. Cats really dislike anything with a citrus scent such as lemons, grapefruits, and oranges. It is unfortunate because I adore the smell of all citrus fruits especially from from the essential oils in the citrus fruit skins. Of course cats are not humans so they are not going to share the same likes and dislikes as humans when it comes to scents.

Cats also do not like spicy scents such as cayenne pepper and mustard. Also avoid using chemical products around your cat because they will really irritate them especially when you are trying to human train the cat. If they are constantly smelling chemicals around you they may always associate that scent to humans and eventually try to avoid you entirely.”

If you end up smelling like a cabbage, or a carrot, or a potato the cats will move out… you have been warned! 😉

Well you didn’t post this on April 1st so I am guessing you are not joking this time. You come up with random unexpected challenges. More power to you on this one. I think I would rather do the marathon thing or climb mount Everest before going vegan. Best of luck. I doubt I would make it a week.

I’ve often thought of doing this, but it is very hard when you have kids to buy a separate list of things than what they are eating. I do try to eliminate meat in meals that normally would have some (chili, spaghetti, tacos…). Good luck Matt. Tell us how you feel after you’ve gone through your 30 days.

Great news for the world! I’m vegan since few months! I think, you shouldn’t stop to be vegan after 30 days, be vegan forever and you’ll be happy, too! There are a lot of other food on the world! Learn to explore other things than meat, cheese and milk! Good luck and have fun!

Nice… Last month I did 30 mins of exercise for 30 days as my challenge – I’m continuing that (and stepping it up a notch by doing Power 90 – started yesterday & so far so good). Not sure what I’ll do as a side 30 day challenge to myself. Guess I’ll find out when I wake up in the morning. Good luck with your 30Days Vegan Challenge!

I believe going vegan is a bad idea for your health. Remember that a human can survive with zero carbohydrates thanks to ketosis, but will eventually die without any fat or protein. Just something to consider when thinking about how our bodies evolved. Regardless, best of luck!

Going vegan is good for a short period of time. It forces you to eat more fruits and vegetables which is good if you’re trying to load up on vitamins and cleanse out your body. But unfortunately our biology demands meat in our diet. Great source of amino acids and protein.

Hi Matt — YAAAAY! Good for you for raising your conscientiousness. The simplest act of choosing kindness – choosing vegan, is choosing kindness – brings the HUGEST rewards. Please accept a gift from my website BuyKind, delivery to the door from some of the most amazing talented vegan chefs in the country. (Contact me anytime!!) It is a great way to treat yourself for doing something so wonderful. And I believe you are smart enough to see through the mis-information some posted here, trying to say that vegan is unhealthy. Facts indicate the opposite. A simple google search will turn up the truth.

Sorry for your lose. I mean a world without the joys of meat… If you really want to eat healthy, then avoid the genetically modified wheat, rice, corn, and oats out there. Focus on lean protein (yes, chicken and lean beef) and leafy greens. You’ll feel great and your heart will thank you for it.

It’s a wonderful way to live. If you find it difficult, go back and cut out just red meat for a year, then poultry for a year, then fish, then eggs and so on. It’s not hard, it’s just a matter of forming new habits, and it’s so worth it!

Hi, There is inappropriate content on a xanga page about someone and the xanga page has been deleted. However, when you google the persons name the website still shows what it says. I have requested from google for it to be taking off but it just said pending. I need it off immediately as she is applying for jobs. Any suggestions?

Hi Matt,
I think I read somewhere that it takes 17 days to break a habit so in theory that should be the hardest period.

Not sure I want to go vegan if it causes you to crave mushrooms like an earlier commenter posted – Plus I like all forms of meat… even those chickens that are laden with chemicals… Gosh they taste good.

Hey Congrats on this Matt, it will definitely be a great challenge, and if after the 30 days are over you switch back to normal eating, at least you will have taught yourself a little more discipline in general. Also, just doing it for 30 days has its benefits because you will have gone through a semi-cleanse and given your body a break from processed foods for a month. I myself eat mostly raw/vegan because it gives me bountiful energy and clearer thinking (I believe it makes me a bit smarter 🙂 ). I think that you should do it for your own selfish reasons first and at the same time you are helping the furry creatures.

I’ve got lots of recipes for you over at Herbivoracious. I think the key to success is not to focus too much on fake meat products and other substitutes. Eat things that are naturally delicious and happen to be vegan and you’ll be happy and satisfied.

@Will Johnson – I love the enthusiasm. No one seems to have mentioned that livestock are a greater contributor of green house gases than autos. That said, to borrow from Charlton Heston, “You can have my meat and cars when you pry them out of my cold dead hands.” I know. I’m a bad person.

I did take your suggestion from the Ted talk- – I don’t have cable TV anymore because I could not give up the “crack pipe” when it was in the house- so now it’s GONE for good. I tried.
We as a family talk more, my 9 year old searches for what she wants to watch, and no more Dizzzzney, thank goodness all the time. But I just can’t follow you on this one. I’m not doing it the month of Octoberfest, or over the holidays. So I settled for 15 minutes of completely ramdom conversation with a stranger every day on Google plus this month . It’s been funny, and I’ve met some new people I would never have met.

Good news that the vegan way of eating is catching on. I have been doing it for 1 year. I have eaten much more interesting and delicous meals and now do not find it hard at all.

I try not to be evangelistic about it but I do love to see people giving veganism a try or even just thinking about giving it a try. There are so many reasons not to use animals as if they were machines. The health reasons, the ecological reasons and the ethical reasons. It is getting harder to think of good reasons to continue using animals and their products.

Don et al, life is indeed short if you keep on eating chips and burgers. They are not delicious enough to sacrifice years of you life for.

It’s tough transitioning straight to veganism. I don’t know your exact motives, but assuming it’s something ethical (since veganism tends to be), remember that doing something consistently is better than going in bursts. I’ve had a lot of friends “go vegan,” quit two weeks later, and go back to meat at every meal.

The point is lower consumption, to decrease demand and profits for the factory farming industry, so it’s best to find something long-term and workable – and to take it from a practical angle. Which is why I think honey is fine (I wrote about that a while ago) and why I wear leather, but buy it at thrift stores so it doesn’t impact the first-hand market.

I already recommended Veg Web for recipes. The Veganomicon is also a great source. And if you need a quick junk snack, Oreos happen to be vegan.

The biggest challenge is staying motivated while your body adjusts. It took me 6 months after going vegetarian to stop craving meat. In the meantime, it’s important to focus on your reasons. If you’re doing it for ethical reasons, check out movies like Food Inc and sites like The Meatrix (one of the few that doesn’t use scare tactics). If you’re in it for health reasons, The China Study is a good read.

Other good food for thought includes the writings of the Dalai Lama on the subject of vegetarianism and Michael Polland’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

Anyway, good luck! The vegan community is very supportive, so feel free to reach out (including to me) with any questions or challenges you have.

The best food I’ve ever had is since I went vegan. The best burgar is a veg ‘bacon’ ‘cheddar cheese’ burgar (from buykind but you can make your own). — so it’s not about not enjoying food — it’s about enjoying the BEST food!

I’m curious to know how it’s going and what moved you to take on the challenge. My friend took on a challenge not to eat meat for two weeks. After the two weeks he had a ham croquette but couldn’t keep it in him. Maybe one day I’ll take on the challenge, probably when I’m closer to the grave as I love the Argentinian/Brazilian grill 🙂 Are you feeling increased energy, more clear headed, or something different yet?

If you’re not going to do anything about SEO manipulation via people placing links like this in their BBS signatures,

i-mockery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69706617

Please at least give the victims a tool to fight back against it! I am a working professional and having this crap show up under my name and business hurts my work and is uncalled for. It’s more than just libel- it’s prolongued cyber-harassment, and it is undeserved.

You found a way to make Google Bowling ineffective. Would you please make it so people can’t mess with someone using Black Hat SEO? I’m at the end of my rope and you’re the only person, anywhere, who can help me and others who have been harassed in this manner- illegally, unfairly, and unjustly. Fix the problem soon before your name becomes synonymous with “suicide victim of SEO bullying”. Granted, there are other search engines. Google is used more than any other. This is a serious loophole that needs to be fixed.

I have a friend that did the same and found it wasn’t that difficult! She tried it for weight loss. However, she became concerned when she realized Oreo cookies were considered vegan and she stopped loosing weight! She is now no longer vegan but a vegetarian.

– Full of vibrant energy
– Total decluttering of the mind (You can easily laser-focus on anything you want to work on)
– Absolute Peace of Mind
– Intuition gets stronger (You can listen to it clearly)
– Empowers Creativity
– Cures/heals any ailment or pain in the body (if you have any, it will be reduced drastically and eventually gets cured)

Off topic but I have a page on a that I want to update every week by changing the date, as well, so that the page goes back of top of the blog.

However, someone copied and pasted my page a while back so will I (plagiarize) be the copier, thereby, being penalized since she has the older copy?

Funny thing to note is that I actually changed the content this time for fear of getting penalized, and the person who copied my original post, re-posted it in my comment section with a link back to their – with no attribution…:) I can’t take it..LOL

It would be deeply appreciated if anyone could give me some feed back on re-posting articles.

I am not shure if going Vegan is the right way! The Human being began to devolop when we started to eat cooked meat.
In my opinion it is not a problem to eat meat, the problem is where the meat comes from. I have tried to eat vegetarian myself for quite a while and found it realy hard as if you have a closer look at many things, they contain meat or animal products in some form.

Excellent. Stick with it for life, you won’t regret it. I’ve been vegan for 2 years and have never felt better. I did it for the animals and after watching Earthlings – everyone needs to watch that documentary!
The other reason to be vegan – the environment!!

Good for you, Matt, for taking on this challenge! There’s a great book called, “Vegan in 30 Days: Get Healthy. Save the World.” by author Sarah Taylor, and I wished I’d had it three years ago when I went from vegetarian to vegan. It gives step by step direction on how to make the dietary change. I’ve since also cut back on fats and oils (and other vegan junk food), and am amazed at how even more energized and healthier I am. Other excellent reference books you may want to read during your 30-day journey are, “Diet for a New America” by John Robbins and “The China Study” on which the film “Forks Over Knives” was largely based. All the best to you!

Going Vegan was far easier than I anticipated. It took a little over a week for my body to adjust to the changes, then I started to feel fantastic. More energy, better sleep, less digestive problems, no issues with getting tired in the afternoon, and lots of other little side benefits (weight loss, etc). My one problem is that I am a gout sufferrer (on regular preventative meds), but man-o-man did I have a whopper of an attack that lasted about 9 painful days, they as it was going away, if flared up in another part of my foot for another 7 or 8 days, then it started to receed and come back again. I usually get one or two flare ups a year while on meds, but this was insane. I finally regressed back to my non-vegan lifestyle and the gout flare-ups have subsided. Unfortunately, I feel like crap again, but at least I can walk.

I really hope this works out for you, and turns into something you adpot as a new lifestyle. If hadn’t experienced those severe gout problems, I would be right there with yah, no questions asked.

Its a hard thing battling back from a mental illness and to work starting at 6.30am and complete tasks was good. In current role I have turned up every day to a job I hate. Most people suffer a breakdown and are off work for years. You can’t talk to anyone about it you have every civil right taken away and your complaints are deemed to be part of the illness. Despite all that I got up and went out there to graft. So thats my position, would love to work for goog.

Great to hear Matt! I just finished a 28 day vegan diet and it felt amazing! My main goals were to reduce my rising cholesterol levels. I received my blood test results yesterday and I am proud to say it worked! My overall cholesterol used to be 210 and after my vegan diet its dropped to 180. My LDL went from 135 to 97. I’ve since switched to a vegetarian diet to give myself a little for freedom to eat out since I live in the culinary hub of San Francisco! Since you live in the San Francisco area, I highly suggest eating at a place in San Francisco called Source! You will love this place. Absolutely hands down the best vegan/vegetarian food I’ve ever had! Check it out on Yelp. Best of luck with your 30 day challenge Matt!

I have been all vegan for the past 6 months, and it has changed my life. First of all there will be a withdrawal stage. You will experience inability to sleep and irritability just to name a few. Make sure you get your protein; ie, soy, sprouts, pea protein, almond milk. I feel 10 years younger now. Watch Dr. Gregers “Max nutrition for vegans 2003” on youtube, this guy is right on and he will show you how to eat right. Any questions just email me.

1. You will need a protein source. Beans are the best. Your local grocery may have a “7 bean” mix (the kind where you can scoop the food and weigh it).
2. Take a multi to cover your vitamin needs
3. The best way to cook veggies is to steam or boil it (no oil)
4. The only sauce you should use are variations of vinegar. Other sauces are full of fat and oil and defeats the purpose of your diet.

Matt, Please tell me why google has started banning Pakistan adsense publishers account, every one has got just same email,

Please check this link, I also lost my account, I know adsense policeis and all pakistani are not involved in fraud clicks and content violation:
propakistani.pk/2011/10/14/google-goes-hard-on-pakistani-websites-bans-dozens-of-adsense-accounts/

Hi Matt,
There might be a better way to get in contact with you, but I thought this would be easiest. I’m happy for you not to put this comment on your blog, it is up to you really.
I’m contacting you because I’m about to undertake a project that I’ve called A Year of TED (I’ve put the website address above for you). Basically, after watching TED presentations for about five years now I’m finally going to start trying to apply them to my life – and I’ve decided to use your 30 days talk as one of my concept talks (the ones that sort of inform the whole process).
There is an initial post on the blog that sort of explains the whole concept. Anyway, I felt that it would be appropriate for me to contact the people who’s talks I am using a) to let you know that I felt that it really was an idea worth sharing and b) I guess just out of common courtesy.
So thank you for your TED Talk,
Kylie

If you’re around SF, do pay Rainbow a visit, they have plenty of vegan food (and many fruits and veggies that may be unknown to you + lots of bulk), Café gratitude (they have several locations including Berkeley) is something to try too (it’s all vegan and actually raw too), and the Millenium is definetly worth a visit too. Maggie Mud is good for vegan icecreams (heard they were closed but that they still delivered) but there are plenty of vegan ice creams available and you can always make your own (I like mixig frozen berries with bananas for a healthy alternative).
Have fun experiencing !

Best of luck Matt! You’ve just started an amazing journey. I just finished my own vegan challenge after being a meat eater my whole life. Cholesterol dropped significantly! Any chance you’ll continue after the 30 days?

Vegan, huh? I do a every third day diet and that works great for me. Every third day I stop eating at 6pm and then I don’t eat again until the following day for dinner. It goes by really fast and I have lost 13 pounds over the past few months doing that. Plus I have found that I can eat anything I want and I don’t gain weight. My doctor thought the diet was weird, but he did say I greatly improved my health. Next I am going to slowly get back into running and exercising. I got way out of shape in school, but I guess computer science can do that to you.

On another note, I just got downgraded in rankings and I checked the website (my website is in the URI under my name). It is full of great, unique content (we check all submissions with Copyscape). The only problems I found were a site-wide link that I accidentally forgot to use no follow for – sorry. I fixed that. I’m not perfect and made an error. I also searched and found a few spots that I had either misspelled the no follow, forgot the space between no and follow or a quotation mark. There was also two links that I had to add the no follow to on a page. That has all been fixed. The website doesn’t point to any bad neighborhoods and I am checking all the comments to make sure something didn’t slip by. I also review all submitted posts, reviews and complaints for spam prior to posting – I must delete out probably 90% of the stuff submitted. I am trying to follow Googles TOS to the best of my ability. I do not sell links. The only other links on the website are links to other pages on the site. I would appreciate any tips you could give me and my readers as this website is basically for them so they can get their complaints and opinions heard and problems fixed.

Matt, I would go careful. A sudden and dramatic change in diet like this can shock your metabolism and digestive system. It can also be a big shock when the foods you have been cutting out are all reintroduced once the 30 days is over. Take care 😉

For any recipe that calls for milk, blend almonds with water. It adds a great punch of protein and offers an alternative to soy milk. Remember, for a balanced protein, you need grains and legumes together.

I did the same thing in October 2010. It is actually difficult to accomplish if you go out at all. Finding vegan dining options is hard work! But, I am glad I did it. I am not vegan now, but my meat intake is a lot less than it was before I did it. Good luck!

I think that includes not consuming honey or yeast? And not to wear any clothing made from animal products? My best friend is a vegan and I admire his lifestyle. Maybe I should try it myself… Hmmm. Good luck!

Matt, one thing most of us don`t know / don`t realize its the “meat hunger”.

After a while (week~) of not eating meat You`ll get the “meat hunger”, You`ll do what ever to go and find meat, that will drive you insane.

In my case, after few days of not eating meat I call my friends to see if they want to come to McDonald’s with me. if they don`t want to, I even go alone, and drive very fast to there, and when I see a cow image on my burger, I start to talk to the cow and say “got ya”.

My daughter has been a vegan since she was around 9. At Thanksgiving she asked how was the turkey on the plate different than the turkey she saw at the farm. I said, “It’s not – they are the same.” She never ate meat again and she has never not been happy with her decision.

My cousin has been trying to stick to Dr. Esselstyn’s vegan diet: no oils or dairy at all. She’s learned to make a lot of interesting veggie dishes, but it really takes a lot of planning on her part to keep eating this way. Best wishes on your vegan diet.

Just found your site…interesting…I have a one word suggestion for your vegan diet….BEANS! Seriously, I didn’t see one post talking about protein (about 0.3 to 0.4 grams per pound of body weight), which is tougher to get in a vegan diet. Beans are a great source. Rice and beans (comes in a package – just add water) is a quick and easy meal (along with some broccoli or spinach). Egg whites are also great (1/2 cup is 138 grams, which translates to about 15 grams of protein.) Enjoy…

Rather you than me 😉 I can’t go a week without eating meat and it’s an important part of your diet, don’t do it! Give up beer or something else that the body doesn’t need, hang on beer is actually an important regular consumption as well… scrap that.

Don’t forget to stop drinking water, there are many small animals too. Also don’t use most of the medicines which are tested on animals, and don’t use any shoes or gloves made of skin… they are bad too.

If you use skin, drink water and use medicines – you are not true vegan – you are just funny.

Matt I am curious to see how its going. I am vegan (for over 9 years) and wanted to commend your efforts. I hope you find it to be easier than you thought. Hats off to you. If you need any recipes or help veganizing old favorites let me know.

Great decision. Be careful about B-complex vitamins as well as iron, both deficiencies can make new vegans feel very tired. Beans, nuts, seeds and spinach(dark leafy veggies) are foods you have to go out of your way to eat. I´d send you to an article I wrote on new vegan pitfalls, but it currently sits on a content farm.. no kidding… Good luck, be healthy

Personally I don’t do vegan, I like cheese and yogurt! And yet I don’t drink cow’s milk I do soy.
Wishing you good luck on this, make sure you get a well rounded vegan diet so you aren’t sacrificing any nutrients. I’ve heard a glass of OJ with a tablespoon of molasses for iron.